Heart To Heart
by Diane LD
Summary: After the AshleyManny debacle, Craig Manning is tired. The last thing he needs is a hearttoheart with Joey.


HEART TO HEART

Author: donnatellaMarks

Characters: Craig, Joey

Timeline: Post AWH, pre- Rock and Roll High School—the bitchy!Ashley and Craigisabastard! era

Spoilers: Accidents Will Happen, general season three

Disclaimer: Not mine. Insert your own witty disclaimer. 

Summary:  Craig Manning is tired.  The last thing he needs is a heart-to-heart with Joey.

A/N- Please review!  This is my first Degrassi fic, and all feedback is much appreciated.  Are Joey and Craig in character?

So it begins…

..

Craig Manning fell back onto his bed with a sigh.  He kicked off his dirty Converse sneakers, shoving them absently under the bed.  His head hit the pillow with a soft sound, and Craig stared up at the ceiling, counting the cracks.  He had been doing this a lot lately, and his count was now up to 12,046.  If he was really in a mood, he would make little constellations.  There was a dog by the window and an ice cream cone by the door.

He sighed.

He let in a long breath, letting it go throughout his whole body.

He was tired. 

He was sorry, okay?  There wasn't much he could do about it now, anyway, was there?  He had said his sorrys and he had paid his dues.  What more did they want from him?   The entire female population of Degrassi looked at him like he had leprosy, while all the guys looked at him as if he was their king.

He sighed again.

Manny was just so tempting, and Ashley was beautiful too, and Manny offered herself and so did Ashley and who was he to deny both of them?

Right, Craig, he thought.  Keep pretending this is all a joke, and it's going to turn out alright in the end.

Ashley and company had ostracized him; Manny had gotten pregnant from their mistake.  She had aborted the baby.  He hadn't been lying when he said he had wanted to be a family; he wanted something…more than this.  Joey and Angela were great and he couldn't thank them enough, but…something was missing.  Something had been missing since the day his mom stormed out of the house, hiding the purple bruise on her arm from when his father had held her and told her to stay.  Dinner was still on the table, roast beef that was still warm from the oven.  His dad had held his head in his hands, walked swiftly to his liquor cabinet and locked himself in his bedroom for the night.  Craig had been left to clean up the table, careful wrapping up the leftovers and putting them in the fridge so his father could make a sandwich the next day.

Craig ran a hand through his hair, tugging slightly.  At the rate he was going, he would be bald by the end of Grade 10.

He was 16, for god's sake!  He shouldn't have to deal with this shit.

He was upset about Manny's decision to abort, but he couldn't deny that it wouldn't have happened in the first place; she wouldn't have had to make the decision had he made sure and clarified the situation.  He really had thought she was on the pill—he was the responsible type!  Really, he was.  He even had one in his wallet the night….

He sighed again.  First lesson, he thought to himself, Communication is key.  He was never, ever, ever going to have sex without a condom again.  Ever.  Even if the girl was on the pill. Never. 

The condom would become his best friend.  The two of them would be closer than all of his other friends combined.  Condom and Craig, the dynamic duo.  Best pals.

He laughed at the utter absurdity of his thoughts.

The afternoon sunlight was fading, sending the last rays of daylight through Craig window.  He idly watched the columns of dust rise into the shafts of light.  Sure, he could maybe run down to the Dot to see if anyone was there to hang with, but he didn't really feel like it.  He was content to watch the dust rise, because well, he didn't really feel like doing _anything_ anytime soon.

He wasn't depressed, he wasn't…he wasn't…anything.  He was tired.  His gaze turned upwards, and he continued his count of the ceiling cracks.

.

Joey Jeremiah pushed open the door to his house, his daughter Angela in tow.  He loosened his tie slowly, and sat on the couch, feeling dead on his feet.  It had been a long, hard day at the lot, complete with an unsettling lunch with one of his best friends.

Snake had asked him to lunch and he had agreed, the pair settling for one of their favorite restaurants.  Archie had thought it necessary to tell him the latest gossip around the school; that Joey deserved to know what was going on.  Although Snake didn't know if it was true or not, he had a suspicion that it was—he had heard about Ms. Kerwin's lunchtime announcement, but that could be a jealous ex-girlfriend move.  He didn't know what was going on with these kids anymore—the older they got, the crazier they got.  The older he got, the less in-touch he felt with them. He couldn't keep up.

Still, he felt it his duty to inform his friend of his stepson's troubles—maybe Joey could help him out—he wasn't looking to good; he had fallen asleep in class lately and the female students all seemed to glare daggers at him.

The lunch had left Joey feeling unsettled and uncomfortable—Craig lived in his house, yes, but did he _really_ know anything about him?  He knew he had stopped seeing that Ashley girl, but no one had ever told him why.  Had he really gotten a girl pregnant?  What were they going to do? Was Craig having sex?  Wasn't Craig a little young to be having sex?

He left Angela in front of the television, trudging up the stairs to Craig's room.  Maybe if he walked slower, he could put off the conversation.  He could think of a million things that would be better than standing awkwardly in his stepson's room asking him about his sex life.  Like going to the dentist.  Joey would have loved an emergency root canal right at that moment.

He knocked on the solid wood door, and upon hearing a muffled cry of "Come in," he entered the room.

It was a typical teenage room, messy, clothes on the floor, posters of obscure bands on the walls, a few of his photo projects scattered upon the wooden desk. Craig lay on is bed, staring upward, only a flick of his hand acknowledging Joey's presence.

"Hey kid," Joey said awkwardly, starting the conversation.

Craig sat up and looked at him strangely.  "Hi…" he said questioningly.

"Can we talk?"  Joey said, even cringing himself on how cheesy it sounded.

"Sure," Craig said warily, knowing something was…not right.

"Okay… So…" he continued awkwardly, and Craig chuckled.

"What's up, Joe?  Just tell me," Craig said, amusement evident in his voice.

"Okay, no _way_ to you get to have fun with this."  He took a deep breath.  "I went to lunch with Archie today.  He told me some… things… the latest gossip around school.  He seems to think there's a reason to worry about you.  And if what he says is true, then there probably is."

Craig groaned, falling back onto the bed.  He massaged his temples gently, knowing he wasn't going to get out of _this_ conversation.

"Okay," he said, resolved, and he sat back up.  He looked Joey straight in the eye, "What do you want to know?"

"Did you get a girl pregnant?" he asked, half curious and half dreading the answer.

Craig breathed deeply.  "Yes."

"What is going to happen?"

"Nothing," Craig said slowly.

"Nothing?  What does that mean?"  Joey demanded.

"It means exactly what it means.  Nothing is going to happen because she's not pregnant anymore," Craig said, a touch of bitterness creeping into his voice.

"I see," Joey said.  He sighed heavily, and sat down on Craig's desk chair across from the bed.

"Yeah," Craig said, not knowing really what else to say.

"How did it happen in the first place?  I thought you knew better that that!" Joey said in a tone that demanded a response.

"Well, Joey, I didn't think I'd have to explain it to _you_, but…" Craig joked.

"Don't, Craig.  This isn't funny.  You got someone _pregnant_.  You aren't even old enough to be having sex!"

Craig looked at him.

"Oh my god, I've turned into my mother."  Joey rubbed a hand over his face.

"Okay, I have to ask you this.  Then we can pretend it never happened…. Craig.  Are you having sex?"

"Not at the _moment_…" Craig smiled, but it withered under Joey's glare.  "No.  Not recently.  It was a mistake, okay?  We didn't mean for it to happen."

"Well, that's not really good enough, is it?  People make mistakes, I understand.  But you shouldn't make a mistake _that_ preventable."

"I get it Joey, I _really_ do, okay?" Craig said, frustrated.

"But do you?" Joey questioned again, "Do you know how to use a co-"

Craig covered his ears, hoping to block out the sound.  "Stop, Joey.  I understand, okay?  I know how to use a condom, and no I don't need a demonstration."  His cheeks were flushed.  This was _embarrassing._

He reached into the side table drawer and pulled out a box.  "See?" he asked Joey, "Condoms.  The only reason she got pregnant…. Well, let's just say there was a…miscommunication."

"A miscommunication?"  Joey asked, an eyebrow raised.  He massaged his temples again, hoping to ward off the thrashing headache that was certain to come.

Craig nodded slowly.  "I thought she was on the pill. She said everything was fine and I assumed….I get it.  It was a mistake.  I've just got learn from it."

"Yeah.  You do...  And where did you get those, anyway?" Joey asked.

"Um…The drug store? Why?" Craig asked.

Joey sighed.  "I'm sorry; I still can't really wrap my head around this… Was this girl... your first, uh, time?" he said awkwardly.

Craig cringed.  This conversation should have ended minutes ago. "Do I have to answer that?"

Joey's face matched Craig's, both in color and expression.  "I'd prefer it if you did," he said, turning redder by the second.

"Uh… no…  Before I moved here...I went to camp that summer; there was a girl…and we…it just kept happening..."

Joey held up a hand, "Okay, enough. I don't need to know the details of your torrid camp affair…but… Craig.  You are part of this family.  You know you can come to me for anything, right?  Anything.  I'll be there.  So will Angie.  You have to know that."

Craig smiled slightly, but it felt good, because smiling hadn't really been one of his favorite actions in the past few months.

"I know…Thanks," Craig said.

"Okay, kid.  Do we want to pretend this conversation never happened?"  Joey asked, only half kidding.

Craig chuckled.  "Nah, it's okay…  I'm okay."

"Good," Joey nodded. "Good."  He got up from his seat and left the room.  As he turned to the doorway, he told him, "Dinner's on in twenty."

"Kay," Craig answered absently.

_"You are part of this family._"

He lay back down on his bed, resuming his ongoing count, a small smile on his face.

..


End file.
